President Trump gave a speech on March 29 in Richfield, Ohio, that, among other topics, tapped into a conversation which hits home for many Ohioans: opioid addiction. As of December 2016, Ohio’s opioid-related death rate of 39 percent was second only to that of West Virginia. Out of the 4,329 general drug overdose deaths in Ohio in 2016, 83 percent of these deaths were opioid-related. Despite numerous attempts at lowering this death rate through policy, nothing seems to work. Trump’s audience, mainly union engineers and maintenance workers, and the setting, an industrial barn, were carefully chosen; his words, less so. One topic that he failed to mention — as most legislators have failed to as well — is the po...

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a piece for The Oberlin Review about the opioid epidemic, specifically in Ohio, and what could be done about it. Since then, there has been no significant reduction in opioid-related deaths in the state or in the nation. According to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio’s drug overdose rate increased to 39 percent from mid-2016 to mid-2017; the national average is 13.3 percent.
Ohio’s 2017 opioid-related data looks bleak. The state had the third most opioid-related overdoses and the third highest overdose rate increase out of any other state in 2017, totaling 5,200 deaths. Montgomery County in southern Ohio reached 800 overdose deaths in 2017 and had to expand its morgue to accommodate t...

Every five hours, someone overdoses on heroin in Ohio.
One in every nine deaths from heroin overdoses in the U.S. occurs in Ohio, leading the nation. In Lorain County, approximately 140 people died from heroin overdoses in 2016, according to The Chronicle-Telegram.
On the other hand, according to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio has lower rates of oxycodone and hydrocodone overdoses than many other states. Oxycodone and hydrocodone are prescription opioids, usually distributed in pill form. These painkillers are closely linked to heroin and can have similar effects on users when abused.
While the relatively low rates of oxycodone and hydrocodone overdoses in Ohio are seemingly positive statistics, these low rates could be rel...

In a heroin epidemic that is sweeping the nation, Ohio is the second-most-affected state. Ohio senators have recently passed legislation that will work to prevent and treat drug addiction and overdose. Over 2,400 people died from drug overdoses in Ohio in 2014. From 2013 to 2014, there was an 18.3 percent increase in the number of heroin related deaths in Ohio alone.
Ohio Senator Rob Portman is co-sponsor of a bill called The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. A congressional committee sent it to be reviewed by the House or the Senate on Feb. 11, 2016.
The bill expands efforts to prevent the abuse of opioids and heroin around the nation. It will provide up to $80 million in funding for treatment, prevention and recovery. It also exp...